Not applicable.
Not applicable.
This invention relates to clothing for the human body, and relates more narrowly to bikini-style swimwear.
Since the introduction of the modern bikini swimsuit in 1946, designers have wrestled with the problem of securing small pieces of fabric to critical areas of the female body in a socially acceptable fashion. The original designs of Jacques Heim (which he called the xe2x80x9catomexe2x80x9d) and Reard (the xe2x80x9cbikinixe2x80x9d) were considered by many to be too promiscuous for public beaches. In America, Vogue magazine did not deem the bikini acceptable until the mid-1960""s. However, public standards have evolved, bringing smaller and lighter bikinis under the rubric of xe2x80x9cdecentxe2x80x9d.
Today, Heim and Reard""s efforts seem quite conservative and perfectly functional. Their choice of essentially triangular shapes of cloth for covering three areas of the bodyxe2x80x94breasts, buttocks, and vulvaxe2x80x94was practical and efficient. Regardless of the size or proportion of a triangular panel, it is being pulled taut at each corner. When each corner of each panel is joined to another either directly or via a ribbon of fabric, a taut and stable geometry results. For both the top and bottom halves of a Heim/Reard bikini there is a band of tensed materials encircling the torso of the wearer transversely. This stability is critical to the wearer""s sense of security and modesty.
An automatic consequence of this geometry is that the vectors of tension which support a triangular panel inevitably radiate from points within the area of the triangle. (This is true of all three types of panels: breast-, buttocks-, and pubic-covering.) Because of this, even very small triangular panels produce sensations of stability for both the wearer and observers. The aesthetic of stability arises directly from the geometry of stability. This perfect union of form and function has never been successfully challenged in the realm of mass-marketed, publicly worn bikinis.
Many designers have attempted to create bikini panels which are supported on or attached to the body in atypical ways. U.S. Pat. No. 5,347,657 to Unsell (1994) discloses a bikini bottom section devoid of supporting strings or ribbons. The rear panel is supported by a hip-grasping arc of plastic, and the front panel is affixed by an adhesive strip. The absence of any visible means of support is an interesting novelty, but the means is highly impractical. Although the front panel is modest enough when first stuck on, its pressure sensitive adhesive strip tends to fail when submerged in water or when subject to moderate sweating. This is highly undesirable on a warm beach.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,482 to Crawford (1995) does not purport to be a bathing suit, but its support method deserves mention. This tanning brief is basically a pubic-covering panel suspended on a wire frame. A linear extension of the frame arcs upwards into the buttocks cleavage of the wearer. It is held in place by spring tension. Although this is a clever deviation from the bikini""s connected-triangle geometry, it is not nearly stable enough to stay put while swimming.
In 1949 the unpatented Poses was introduced by Langs (Life magazine, May 16, 1949). It was little more than a pair of cloth cones affixed to the breasts with annular strips of adhesive. This strapless arrangement was a bold departure from the popular halter top, but it was suitable for static sunbathing and little else. Both because of its inherent insecurity and resemblance to a burlesque costume, it failed to find a market.
Burlesque and exotic dancing costuming discloses a relevant area of prior art which I will refer to as the xe2x80x9cfig leafxe2x80x9d method. A fig leaf is a stiff planar element which covers the pubic area. Various stiffening materials include cardboard, wood lathes, wires, and plastics. Once covered with cloth or decorated with any number of light materials, the fig leaf is suspended from a very thin waist band. The lower edge may or may not be restrained. The horizontal extensions of a fig leaf have no visible means of support, giving an enticing and erotic appeal to both garment and wearer. These extensions, however, do not conform to the body of the wearer, making for a deliberately immodest garment. This is appropriate only to limited entertainment venues.
Another departure from the classic triangulation method of bikini construction is the shoulder-support approach. In a shoulder-support bikini there is no waistband transverse to the torso. Instead, pubic and buttocks panels have extensions which aim steeply upwards. These may spiral around or crisscross the torso in any number of ways, but support for pubic and buttocks panels ultimately comes from the shoulders of the wearer. Consequently, when the wearer bends her torso, panels may immodestly lift away from the body. This is remedied via additional connections between panel extensions and/or cords elsewhere on the torso. This complexity yields a garment which is typically clumsy and uncomforatable. Also, such a garment often produces an unwanted array of tan lines.
When the current market for bikini swimwear is examined, many disadvantages are apparent:
(a) The Heim/Reard triangulation method of construction has become redundant. Its very efficiency has led to its ubiquity. Although there have been countless variations in materials, colors, proportions, and extraneous decorations, the architecture itself is stagnant.
(b) Deviations from the triangulation geometry have only been accomplished through the use of clumsy methodologies, such as adhesives, springs, and inelegant excesses of cords or fabrics.
(c) Bikinis deviating from the triangulation geometry do not affix securely to the wearer. They often require the constant attention of the wearer to keep their panels in place. Unusual geometries are often uncomfortable to the wearer, riding up and binding unexpectedly.
(d) Various alternate geometries involving adhesives or spring tension do not hold up to immersion in water. They are unsuitable as bathing wear.
(e) Novel bikini geometries have tended to be too revealing and immodest. These deviations are generally unsuitable for public beaches, swimming pools, and water parks.
In relation to the last fifty-five years of bikini design, the present invention presents several objects and advantages:
(a) to provide a method of bikini construction which is novel in its underlying mechanics of structure.
(b) to provide a bikini with an outward appearance which differs markedly from the usual triangular outline without employing adhesives, springs, or ungainly and excessive restraint cords.
(c) to provide a novel bikini which is just as secure and stable as the classic triangulated architecture.
(d) to provide a novel bikini which reliably stays in place while swimming.
(e) to provide a novel bikini which is modest and suitable for all public swimming and sunbathing venues.
In accordance with the present invention a garment comprises a diamond-shaped area of cloth held in tension at two opposing points by a waistband and a crotch panel, and simultaneously at the two remaining points by a spreader.